SXSW Film Festival Audience Award Winner “May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers” Now Available [Video]

May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers, the 2017 SXSW Film Festival documentary and 24 Beats Per Second Audience Award Winner, hits theaters for one night only on Tuesday, September 12.

Co-directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, the documentary uses the recording process as a backdrop, while intimately depicting a lifelong bond and uniquely creative partnership, as the band – fronted by brothers Scott and Seth Avett – weathers marriage, divorce, parenthood, illness, and the challenges of the music business.

Apatow, a SXSW alum many times over, has brought numerous noteworthy projects to the festival including the hilarious Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) and Lena Dunham‘s hit series Girls (2012). This past SXSW Film Festival, along with May It Last, Apatow produced the incredibly charming rom-com The Big Sick (Audience Award Winner – Festival Favorite) with Barry Mendel. The pair have also collaborated on other SXSW alumni films, Bridesmaids and Trainwreck, both of which were work-in-progress screenings at SXSW.

Celebrated documentary director Bonfiglio joins Apatow for their second directorial partnership, following the acclaimed ESPN 30 for 30 film Doc & Darryl.

Watch the 2017 SXSW Film Festival red carpet coverage and Q&A from the world premiere, then read on for our interview with Judd Apatow as he discusses what compelled him to become involved with chronicling this influential musical group.

Q: Tell us a little about your film?

JA: Our film is about a band making an album, but it’s really a character portrait of some truly unique people and the bonds that hold them together. It’s a bit of a meditation on the passage of time and the ever-changing nature of life. And it has some great music.

Q: What motivated you to tell this story?

JA: I am a giant fan of The Avett Brothers. Rick Rubin called me and asked if I wanted to follow the making of their next album. I couldn’t think of anything that sounded more fun than that.

Q: What do you want the audience to take away from this film?

JA: That it is possible to be a good man and a good brother while creating moving, emotional, powerful, stirring, soul-searching music.

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